When she takes the stage at the Olympia theater in Paris in April 1956 as part of a variety show featuring new talent, Iolanda Gigliotti is not yet Dalida. She does not know yet that radio producer Lucien Morisse will make her a star and become her husband. The biopic moves from this big break to her suicide in 1987, from disco to her transitionary trips to in India. It is the story of a tumultuous and tragic life, marked by both love and death.

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How do you construct a real movie within the restraints of the typical biopic, that falsely prestigious genre that has become ordinary in recent decades? The latest disappointing answer is Dalida by Lisa Azuelos, which focuses on the incredible romantic life of the singer. By concentrating almost exclusively on the star’s tumultuous personal life, the director of LOL and Quantum Love clearly tries to paint a portrait of a modern woman in love with love, whose success story turns into a heartbreaking tragedy. But the movie quickly devolves into a long parade of weddings and sentimental moments overlaid by Dalida’s hits, without any real regard for cinematography or screenwriting. Sveva Alviti is without a doubt the biopic’s best asset and shines from beginning to end. Too bad she was not supported by a proper script to match.